Bullets: Does Size Really Matter?

When you first begin researching how to reload and what
supplies you need, you no doubt spend much of your time deciding which
projectile and powder to use. After all, these two items are the most important
factors of how successful your load will be. So, which works best? The truth is, there are a multitude of bullet types and
sizes made by more than 10 different manufacturers. The astonishing part is
that every manufacturer is making enough profit to stay in business. Therefore,
they must be selling a considerable amount of product. My point? You could ask
25 different reloaders, which bullet size and style they prefer and you would
get 25 different answers; we all have our favorite. For this reason, instead of telling you which bullet is the
best, we wanted to show you how size and style effect how successful your round
it. We wanted to answer this question once and for all, at least where
projectiles are concerned; does size really matter?

Why are you
reloading?

If your only hope in reloading is to produce more ammo for
target practice and plinking around, bullet style isn’t a concern of yours.
Size, on the other hand, could affect how successful you are at the range.
However, if you load your own self-defense or hunting rounds, the style of
bullet, in terms of expansion and penetration, becomes more important.

How does size affect
accuracy?

This, again, depends on your shooting needs. When at the
range, you will possibly find that your gun does better with a particular weight
for no apparent reason. This is often discovered through shooting hundreds of
rounds of varying sizes. You may also ask another shooter with the same gun as
you who has shot more rounds
from it which size he finds best suits the gun.

For accuracy, however, bullet weight plays a major role, other
than the obvious consideration of distance. There’s a fine line that has to be
discovered between a bullet being too heavy or too light. If a bullet is heavy,
it is less likely to be blown off course by the wind. However, heavy bullets
also tend to lose velocity faster, in turn not going as far. Lighter bullets,
on the other hand, might travel further with a higher velocity but are easily
deterred with the slightest wind.

Weight effects on Recoil

Many believe that the weight of the bullet contributes the
highest to the amount of recoil a load causes. While there is a small amount of
truth to that, the amount and style of the powder used plays a larger role. For
example, a fast burning powder tends to have more of a snap on your hand or
shoulder due to the powder igniting all at once.

Bullet Style

Style will be the single greatest determining factor on how well your load
performs in hunting and self-defense situations. In these shooting styles,
bullet expansion and penetration are what determines if a load is successful.

The answer to our original question is that size does
matter. The only way you are going to find which bullet size and style works
best for you is through trial and error; by sending hundreds of rounds down
range and keeping detailed data of each load. Don’t be afraid to safely
experiment with different projectiles; you might find it to be extremely
exciting.